Living and Loving
by Sage.Meryllis.Banks
Summary: This is a drabble series that centers around the VA gang, especially Rose and Dimitri. They will be funny, happy, sad, angsty, contemplative, and so much more. There will be un-prompted and prompted drabbles, depending on how creative my brain is feeling. Feel free to send in prompts (a word or a phrase, no more) through reviews or PMs, but if you do, please leave a name!
1. Living and Loving

**This is a drabble series that centers around the VA gang, especially Rose and Dimitri. They will be funny, happy, sad, angsty, contemplative, and so much more. Feel free to send in prompts (a word or a phrase, no more) through reviews or PMs, but if you do, please leave a name! I'm starting out with a light, fluffy one because I think it's a fitting intro to something that will probably go on for a long time. I don't know exactly how long, but there will definitely be more than 100 drabbles in total. Rated T.**

Drabble #1: Living and Loving

POV: Rose

It's been several years since my last Strigoi raid. Several years since the last bit of ink was tattooed onto my neck. Several years since I've fought or killed.

After nearly forty years as a guardian, I was finally able to retire. My life is quiet at last.

All of mine and Dimitri's old friends are relinquishing our jobs to the younger and more energized. Our lives are coming to a slow, easy close.

Sometimes Dimitri and I sit together, doing nothing but talking about the past. We remember first the days back at the academy when our love was budding and we had to pretend there was nothing going on, then the days of pain and grief when Dimitri was a Strigoi, then the days when we were together yet apart as we ran for our lives, and then to the relative calm of the years after the Palm Springs mission.

We look back on those times fondly, even if we weren't in the best of situations then. Because we know now that then, we still had our entire lives ahead of us. We had our entire lives to live and love.

**There is my first drabble! Hope you liked it.**

**Just saying, the next ones won't be as canon or unspecific; I just needed a general place to start this series.**


	2. Nervousness

**Here is something I was kind of conflicted about writing. I wanted to do a fluffy Romitri story that took place in post-cabin scene and battle Shadow Kiss, but didn't want to have to write a full alternate ending with Rose saving Dimitri and drama and conflict and resolutions and all that hard-to-plan stuff. So here is a drabble version of an alternate ending of SK. It takes place less than a week after the battle.**

**Also, I have decided to continue the Doppelganger series as a separate story; it's gotten way too far to simply write in drabbles. Yay! My first full-length story. Expect an update for both stories tomorrow as long I have no school (massive snowstorm brewing in the Northeast US) and don't lose power.**

Drabble #6: Nervousness

RPOV

I sat on the cool, lacquered floor of St. Vladimir's gym, leaning against the wall with my knees tucked into my chest. Dimitri was still cleaning up after a brief sparring session we had decided to have together. Training and classes hadn't started up yet so we'd been bored, and as he had been cleared to go on active duty again, we decided to stay in shape by having this session.

Watching Dimitri haul the mats back to their stack against the far wall of the gym was a very distracting sight. His bare back gleamed with sweat and rippled with hard muscle as he bent down to roll up the last of the mats. I sighed in appreciation.

"What's wrong?" Dimitri asked, turning towards me. Seeing my untroubled expression, he grinned. "See something you like?"

I grinned back. "You're stealing my line, but yes. Lots."

He walked towards me and sat down gracefully, kissing me softly as he did. I put my head on his shoulder, reveling in the warmth of his skin.

"It's your birthday tomorrow."

I sighed again, but it wasn't a sigh of content this time. "I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to do this."

There was no elaboration needed on my part; Dimitri knew what I was talking about. "She's been your friend since you were five. She'll accept us."

"Yeah, but what if she doesn't? What if she thinks it's completely wrong? And it's not just her. It's also Eddie, Christian-" I heard my voice rising in pitch as I got more and more worked up.

"Rose, Roza," he said soothingly, stroking my hair. "It will be all right. They will accept us because they're your friends. They love you and care about you. And since when have the friends of Rose Hathaway not been able to take some of the unconventional and bizarre?"

I laughed softly. "I guess you're right." Stretching my legs out, I continued. "But still, how will I tell them? I don't even know how I'll break it to Lissa yet."

"Take it in steps," he advised. "You can tell Lissa first, and then later you two can tell the others together. Besides, you'll always have me."

"Really?"

"Of course, Roza. I would never abandon you. Ya lyublyu tebya."

I grimaced slightly, despite the reassuring statement. "You know I'm shit at languages. Don't rub it in."

He laughed; the motion made his chest rumble. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Dimitri."

The bell rang suddenly; I groaned and slowly stood up. "It's curfew time. Walk me back, comrade?"

"Of course."

We walked across the quad in comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of the rising sun. When we reached my dorm, I checked to see if anyone was watching before kissing him. His long, graceful fingers lingered on my cheek for a few seconds before dropping to his side.

"Good night, Dimitri," I whispered.

"Good night, Roza. Sweet dreams."

**I might write a continuation of this one where they tell Lissa if I can make it take shape. By the way, I have a few prompts from you guys and some from my friends but if you want me to continue this series then I need some more prompts!**


	3. Rumors

**Warning: Next two drabbles will have some very slight Rodrian. Don't be sad. Just thought that for the sake of convenience, I ought to set it during that time period. (BTW before I got to the latter half of Last Sacrifice, I actually shipped Rodrian over Romitri. Shocking, right? Now I'm just wondering how I had such poor judgement.) Anyway, this was an unprompted drabble. Just needed to get something out of my system.**

Drabble #2: Rumors

POV: Adrian

I was sitting in my room with a glass of scotch in my hands, contemplating the potentially dangerous fact that my girlfriend wanted to save her ex-lover from his undead state, when a guardian summoned me to see Aunt Tatiana.

"What for?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. Her Majesty just told me to send for Lord Adrian Ivashkov."

With that, he exited the room and I followed close behind. When we got to Aunt Tatiana's office, I knocked quickly before entering.

"Hi, Aunt Tatiana," I said politely.

"Ah, Adrian," said my aunt. "Come, dear, sit down." She motioned to the ornate oak chair positioned in front of her desk. "Let's have a little chat."

A little chat? That didn't sound too good. I pulled out the last bit of spirit that hadn't been quashed by my drinking to take a look at her aura. Pale blue, gray, indigo- nervousness, stress, and determination. The gray was something I saw regularly. But the blue and indigo kind of worried me.

"How was your trip to Las Vegas?" she said suddenly.

"It was good, I guess. Fun. Won a few poker games. Drank a bit, smoked a bit."

"I thought you quit. I thought Hathaway made you quit."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a free spirit. Besides, it's Vegas, and Rose was busy with her own matters."

Aunt Tatiana nodded. "Did you do anything else there?" The pale blue in her aura increased.

I raised an eyebrow. "A few things, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I'm going to be direct with you, Adrian. I've heard the rumors that people have spread about your doings with Hathaway in Las Vegas. Now, I'll ask you one simple question: did you go there with Rose Hathaway to elope?"

I gaped at her, astonished. "Of course not, Aunt Tatiana. That's crazy."

She looked immensely relieved. "Good. Now that that has been cleared, I would like to discuss arrangements with you and Vasilisa going to Lehigh in-"

I cut across her. It wasn't something I had ever dared to do, despite my close relationship with her. "But of course, the definition of 'crazy' is me. And eloping with Rose doesn't seem like such a bad idea."

It was her turn to look astonished.


	4. Aftershave

**Drabble #4: Aftershave**

**Rose POV**

I had a few thoughts about moving in with Dimitri:

1. Moving in with Dimitri and finally getting to publicly be with him? What a relief. And to hell with anyone who dared to judge us.

2. He smelled amazing. Like, the aftershave he wore wasn't suffocating or overpowering in any way, but still intoxicatingly sexy all the same.

3. Sharing a bed would be heaven. Breathing in his scent while I slept would lead to some pretty awesome dreams. Not to sound weird or anything, but it was true.

But when I saw the bottle of aftershave sitting on the bathroom counter, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Did Dimitri's scent really just come from a simple bottle, manufactured by some company, with millions of others just like it? Logically, I knew it did, but I liked to think that Dimitri naturally smelled that good. That this heavenly-smelling bottle was Eau de Dimitri and not some generic guy-perfume thing.

Actually, I supposed that there were some subtle things that made a difference. A hint of leather, a tiny bit of sweat (surprisingly not that disgusting), and a sensation that the mix delivers that is just Dimitri.

For once, Adrian was right. A blend of perfume and the wearer's own personality is dead sexy.

**This is the result of wishing Dimitri were mine. Sadly, he is Rose's, so instead, I transferred my thoughts into her brain. For those who want me to continue the Shadow Kiss drabble, it is coming soon. I'm caught between this and Bittersweet Doppelganger and I had this prewritten, so this is what I'm posting for the time being.**


	5. Cooking

**Here I am, using the first of the prompts that Ginevra Annabeth Herondale so generously gave me! Though it's not in the POV you might expect...**

**Drabble #5: Cooking**

**Viktoria POV**

Viktoria, despite being raised by Olena, the queen of the kitchen, sucked at cooking.  
>She still tried sometimes, though.<p>

Like she was doing now. She poured the cooking oil in the pot, hearing the sizzle of liquid against the bottom of the pot and-

Her hand brushed against the heated metal. Immediately, pain shot up her arm.

"DER'MO!" Viktoria dashed to the sink and thrust her fingers under the cold water.

Rose looked up from her nail painting and studied her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing- I just touched some hot metal; it's not a major injury." Viktoria smiled at Rose.

Rose looked amused. "You're almost as bad at cooking as I am. Anyway, what does 'der'mo' mean?"

This time Viktoria blushed. "Um, I don't know how to- How do you say… I don't know the translation, we never learned how to say such-"

"That's OK," interrupted Rose, stopping Viktoria's ramblings. She turned to her boyfriend, who was sitting across from her. "Dimitri?"

Dimitri looked at the two girls disapprovingly. "Viktoria, you know better than to use that word. Rose, just forget it. It's nothing."

Viktoria's face brightened. She'd just remembered the time when Rose had stubbed her toe on an armchair. "Oh! I have it! Der'mo is 'shit!' "

Rose looked at Viktoria wonderingly. A second later, the bottle of polish she held slipped from her grasp as she collapsed on the floor in a fit of laughter.

"Dimitri," -Gasp- "I finally learned," -Gasp- "A swearword in Russian!" Rose managed to reign in her mirth. "Your attempts at trying to stop me from learning have failed!" She looked exceedingly proud.

He smiled dryly and grabbed a paper towel. "Yes, and now you have nail polish in your hair."

Rose's hand flew to her dark brown locks, feeling the sticky liquid seep through the strands. "DER'MO!"

* * *

><p><strong>So, my writer friend claims that "Aftershave" is the best piece I have ever written, but that this one "is hilar and a close second." I happen to think the opposite; this one is my favorite. Aftershave is cute, but not the most "full" story, if you get what I mean. By the way, the Shadow Kiss drabble is in progress but going very slowly :(<strong>


	6. Darkness

**Drabble: Darkness**

**Third person omniscient**

Darkness. An ambiguous term, really.

For Rose, who had once been shadow-kissed, it meant the insanity that spirit brought. The crazed emotion, the impossible anger, and when it was over, the overwhelming guilt and fear. It meant a world where nothing was good.

Darkness terrified her.

For Dimitri, who had once been a Strigoi, it meant night. It meant blood and death and the sinister sensation that there was no life without light. It meant nightmares and devastating remorse.

He'd never dreaded a single thing more than he dreaded the darkness.

But when Rose woke up shivering in the early Moroi morning, plagued with dreams of Victor's skull cracking against the concrete…

When Dimitri lay awake in the pitch-black bedroom, unable to chase the visions of taking an innocent woman's life from his mind…

In those times, darkness meant finding comfort in each other. It meant knowing you were safe in the arms of the person you loved. It meant overcoming life's biggest obstacles.

Together.

**Sequence of events:**

**Sage: *Writes Shadow Kiss drabble***

**Friend: *Reads it***

**Sage: *Rereads it, bangs head against against keyboard, then deletes it***

**Friend: Good call… that one honestly wasn't that good.  
>Sage: *Apologizes over and over to those who wished for a continuation of "Nervousness"*<strong>


	7. College Life and Some Impromptu Practice

**Drabble: College Life and Some Impromptu Practice**

**Rose POV**

Going to college with Lissa was surprisingly… fun. Due to the fact that Moroi politics and law were so different from that of humans, we didn't have to take any civics classes. Thank God; history and social studies were my least favorite classes ever. We took some persuasive writing and public speaking/debating classes, though. Which were bearable, because I actually was a decent writer. Enough to guarantee at least a B+. And then Lissa let me pick a class for us that I wanted to take. Animal behavior and physiology, here I come!

That was the academic side. College life, however, consists of far, far more than just the education.

Parties. Dances. Sororities and fraternities. Not that Lissa and I joined a sorority or went to too many parties, but there was that side of our life.

It was fun to be a normal teenager for once. Strigoi didn't dare attack such an area that was so teeming with life and law enforcement, where any disappearance would be well-documented. The worst that the other guardians and I had to protect Lissa from were overzealous boys.

Speaking of…

"Hey, babe, I think we would look really good as a couple. You wanna go out?" A sandy-haired guy fell into step with me as I strode across the crowded quad to join Lissa for lunch.

"Mmm… no thanks," I replied uninterestedly, picking up my pace. "I have a boyfriend." Out of the corner of my eyes, I studied him. He was decently cute, I supposed, but nowhere close to Dimitri in terms of hotness. The arrogant smirk on his face also made any respect I had for him drop to near zero.

He raised his eyebrows. "You do." It was worded as a statement, but I could hear the note of disbelief in his voice. Irritation at his behavior bubbled inside me. "How come I've never seen you with any one guy? I've seen you around. You're always with that tall blond girl. And the guys you talk to never hang around for long. They don't look like they're your friends, either."

Stalker much? He'd noticed how Lissa's other guardians would report to me, whereas I hadn't even seen him before today. I still didn't know his name. "That's because he's older. He's got a prestigious job." I didn't mention that I myself had a job even more prestigious. Not that I held myself above Dimitri, as he had taught me almost everything I knew, but it was the truth. Guarding the queen herself was a higher position than guarding her consort.

"Hmm." The guy licked his lips; my anger rose after seeing that motion. "Well, I happen to think that what he doesn't know won't-"

His hand rested gently on my waist.

That was the last straw.

I gripped his forearm tightly until his face contorted in pain, then used my knee to land a blow precisely in between his legs. Taking advantage of his lack of balance during that time, I pressed the heel of my palm to his shoulder and judo-flipped him.

He landed belly up in the grass with an audible thump. Smiling my best maneater smile, I bent down to whisper in his ear; my tone was harsh despite the grin still plastered on my face. "Don't even think about doing that again. If you put your hands on me, you will regret it. It will hurt very, very much. Trust me." I straightened up before adding, "For the record, Dimitri is a thousand times the man you are."

I left quickly, leaving a boy groaning in pain and a crowd gaping after the petite, pretty girl who'd just taken down Lehigh's wrestling captain in less than two seconds.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have no experience whatsoever with any form of martial arts/self-defense, so I apologize if the fight scene was written terribly. I've also never written a fight scene, so… INVASION AHAHAHAHAH FINALLY I CAN HAVE MY REVENGE! The fight scene was a teeny bit awkly written, Sage :( -From Snowflake**

**From Sage: That was my writer friend/co-author/editor, SnowflakeSoup. You can find out more about her in the bold section on my profile. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! Tell me what you thought of this idea, of the fight scene, of Rose kicking the team captain's ass, etc. Reviews are what motivate me :)**


	8. Incompetence by Adrian's standards

**I'd like to thank Ginevra Annabeth Herondale, VAGypsy, Cathy (Guest), and everyone else who reviewed, followed, and favorited my drabble series and Bittersweet Doppelganger. You guys are awesome :)**

**Drabble: Incompetence by Adrian's standards**

**Adrian POV**

It was New Year's Eve, and I doubted that anyone would remember this night.

I scanned all the people in the room, who, judging by their exceptionally clumsy motions and near-unintelligibly slurred speech, were drunker than I had ever been in my life.

Sydney- oh, Sage, I wasn't sure I should be laughing or smacking my forehead at my wife.

"Did you know that I name my cars? It's a passion of mine. I love cars. They're beautiful creatures, especially the classic ones! Ooh! Did you know that the one that Rose and I used in Russia was from the _Soviet era_?! And it was a Citroen! I was wondering just how they ever got it into the country! Anyway, I called it the Red Hurricane! It was so cute… the paint was a rusty red color and the engine had a nice roar to it- like a Hurricane! Do you get it? Hurricanes have really powerful winds, and the car had a really powerful engine. And then I had a car named Latte! It was a deep beige, just like the coffee! Isn't it cool that different things can have the same qualities? Like dogs and trees- they both have bark! And quills are something that both porcupines and-" She hiccuped loudly and her entire body quaked as she did so, causing an intently-listening Belikov to guffaw with laughter.

"You're so funny, Sydney!" He giggled- yes, big, badass Belikov _giggled_. "I think you should be a comedian. Or a scientist! They need to be funny, don't they?" He frowned in concentration. "Yes- wait! You should be a lawyer! You'd be amazing at that!"

It seemed like Belikov finally had a weakness: he got way too-

"DIMITRI!" Rose stomped up to her boyfriend (which looked ridiculous, seeing as she nearly tripped over her own feet in the process). Swaying slightly, she threw a sluggish punch to his shoulder. "I knew it! You like Sydney! You think she's smart and funny… I knew you only wanted me for sex!" She screamed in frustration and began repeatedly slapping his chest.

"Ow, Roza, stop it! You're hurting me!"

"Shut up, Dimitri! I'm the one who should be hurting, not you!" Rose began to sob.

Lissa immediately ran to comfort her, but knocked a poinsettia plant over before she could reach Rose.

"Whoops! Sorry, plant." She regained her balance and continued her walk to Rose. When she finally reached her, Rose was immediately wrapped in a smothering embrace.

Christian scowled at his girlfriend from his sprawled position on the couch. "Lissa, you never hug me like that. Are you cheating on me or something? The hell is wrong with you? Why do you always..." After a few moody grumblings, he slumped over dejectedly and promptly fell asleep, the snarl still on his face. The cup of punch he held tipped, spilling all over the front of his shirt.

Jill squealed. "Chrissie-Chris took a shower in his punch! Who wants to see me do that too?" Eddie raced- staggered, really- to stop her from drenching herself and the expensive silk dress she wore. As soon as the danger was avoided, he started attacking her face with his lips, which was something the responsible guardian would never do if he was sober. Mia, who stood near the bar, giggled drunkenly at the couple, then grabbed a nearby guardian and followed their example.

Shaking my head, I turned back to my own drink.

"These people can't hold their liquor at all," I muttered. "That'll be a sight to see in the morning."

I only put five bottles of tequila in the punch!

**Adrian… *smh in disapproval* you're so devilish! I don't think they could stand one bottle of tequila, much less five. Not everyone can stomach the amount of liquor you can. Idjit. (But as a VA girl, I still love you)**

**SnowflakeSoup came up with the "everyone's drunk" idea when she wondered aloud, "What kind of drunks would my characters be?" She wrote her drabble first, and then mine was kinda, sorta modeled off of hers- only, because there is a chronic drunk in VA, it was more interesting to write from his POV. So if a month or two from now, you see a drabble on FictionPress by her that's remarkably like this one, except with her characters, then all credit for the idea goes to Snowflake. What. That was a HUGE run-on sentence (I hate those).**

**There's a "sismance ship" going on called SMB+SS= AWSUMNESS… but only Snowflake and I ship it :( Our other friends have never read the works we write together, so they don't see enough AWSUMNESS to truly understand SMB+SS.**

**Snowflake: Yeah. But SMB+SS indeedly equals AWSUMNESS.**

**Don't forget to review, and keep those prompts coming!**


	9. First Date

**Second prompted drabble... I really need to start doing more of these.**

**SnowflakeSoup wrote a oneshot about a first date between two of her OCs; it's quite funny and I helped her with some of the dialogue/humor, etc. However, YOU GUYS CAN'T READ IT BECAUSE SHE HASN'T POSTED ANYTHING YET! HA I GET SPECIAL PRIVILEGES! Sorry. Needed to do that. (She laughed when I typed that outburst in the Google Doc). However, it's quite different from this one.**

**Drabble: First Date**

**Rose POV**

Dimitri and I sat in the small diner booth, eating our breakfast in comfortable silence, when suddenly I was hit with a realization.

"Have you ever noticed," I swallowed my bite of bacon, "that we've known each other for more than a year, but this is the first time that we've really gone on a proper date?"

He raised an eyebrow (which I still couldn't do, much to my frustration). "You would say that this-" He used his fork to gesture to the greasy countertop and the cracked upholstery of the chairs we sat in, "is a proper date? I remember that you had high standards for an accommodation- you wouldn't even eat the bacon at the Keepers and you hated that motel in West Virginia. And besides, this wasn't even planned. We're just eating a breakfast in the airport because we have extra time before the flight."

I shook my head solemnly and held my pointer finger up in a sort of preaching way. "The location of a date doesn't matter. It's the person you're with that does."

Dimitri chuckled lightly. "Who are you quoting?"

"Rose Hathaway's Dating Manual. It's the soundest dating book I've ever read."

Dimitri's chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, his rich bass tones sounding deliciously sexy. "Considering that you aren't the most normal teenager around, I wouldn't say that your opinion is the one that's widely held among idealistic and needy young girls."

I scowled and flicked a bit of tater tot at him. "I am not young. Sure, I may look like it, but mentally I am very mature."

"I know, Roza. But other girls your age would be considered young."

I smiled. "Okay, back to the dating thing- this breakfast is only part one. We're vacationing together; doesn't that count as a date? Or multiple dates, for that matter?"

Smiling ruefully, Dimitri finished the last of his breakfast and nodded. "I suppose so. But when we get back to Court, I'll take you on a real date. Fancy restaurant, formal clothing," then he leaned close to whisper in my ear, "and afterwards, perhaps we'll have another rendezvous in the shower."

Sometimes, Dimitri was the typical stoic, responsible guardian. And then occasionally, he would turn into someone who was the same as every testosterone-driven guy.

**Ooh! It got heated! I love showing different perspectives of Dimitri :) He's just such an awesome guy. Respectful to women, wise, dependable, occasionally funny, and brilliant in general. This is probably the most heated any of my writing will ever get, by the way. My experience in that area is pretty much zero. And in case you're wondering, Romitri was on the way to Russia to visit the Belikovas.**

**We are currently at 27 reviews. Whoever is the 50th reviewer gets a drabble of their choice! ****(Bribery is a good method for getting reviews, guys)**

**Ooh ooh quick story of something that happened today! I was experimenting with Siri's languages on my phone, and I switched to German and shouted "KRANKENWAGEN" (ambulance) at it. It's one of the only German words I know, other than Guten Tag and various swearwords (courtesy of The Book Thief. Gottverdammt that book was sad). And then my phone started dialing 911… *Sage furiously presses "End Call"***


	10. Desk

**I'm uploading early in commemoration of reading TRC... my mind is currently blown. PM if you wanna talk.**

**Drabble: Desk**

**Rose POV**

Being a guardian is not just about fighting Strigoi. There's a lot of standing against the wall and pretending to be a statue while the royals yell at each other- which is quite boring. There's also a lot of walking in circles around the perimeter of Court- which is also quite boring. However, most of my job, believe it or not, involves sitting at a desk and filling out schedules and paperwork.

Okay, don't get me wrong. I love being Lissa's guardian. And as the queen's head guardian, I actually get a real, enclosed office space in the Guardian Headquarters, unlike the low-ranking guardians who only get cubicles.

But endless piles of repetitive paperwork is not fun. Want to change the guarding detail around palace housing? Someone killed a Strigoi and needs a guardian tattooist? A new guardian is promoted to the royal guard? The queen is going on a trip to Romania to discuss offensive Moroi magic? Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork.

And then, when Lissa got married and Christian became the non-ruling King, there was more paperwork to fill out dealing with sharing shifts with Christian's guardians, getting a joint system of near and far guards, and the balancing of power between the two guardian groups. Ugh.

Still, there are silver linings in every situation. Due to the fact that the Queen and King's guardians had to work closely together, my office was shared by Christian's head guardian. You probably know who that is…

Sharing an office meant we got a lot of privacy for _certain activities_ at work.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, this drabble wasn't really related to desks per se, but when you think of desks, don't you think of offices and boring paperwork? And why were the last two drabbles I wrote so suggestive at the end? My mind just decides to weird out sometimes. Review, please!<br>****I've been in the mood for drabbles the past few days and I have quite a lot of ideas for them at the moment… which means that, unfortunately, Bittersweet Doppelganger may have to wait a week or so.**

**SOB SOB THE SERIES IS OVER DX**

**I do hope that Richelle will write future short stories and novellas. If it's in RPOV I'll be even happier. As much as I love Sydney and Adrian, Rose takes the cake.**

**DO NOT READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVE NOT READ TRC**

**Speaking of taking the cake, Snowflake and I are debating whether Jared Sage or Randall Ivashkov should be on the top of The Official Chart of Douchbaggery. I thought no one could be worse than Jared, but meeting Randall… she still thinks it's Jared.**

**The Marly is real! Yes! I've been shipping Marcus and Carly since they met in SS... when Zoe mentioned that they were dating, I practically whooped with joy. Awww Declan is so cute... and ROMITRI ENGAGEMENT HOLY SHIT AHHHHHHHHHH MY HEART IS BURSTING! I can't spew all my feels out without spamming an entire page, so like I said above, PM me if you wanna rant with me.**

**Make sure to review!**


	11. Driving

**I've been in the mood for drabbles the past few days and I have quite a lot of ideas for them at the moment… which means that, unfortunately, Bittersweet Doppelganger may have to wait a week or so. Sowwy :(**

**Agh, getting braces hurts SO EFFING MUCH! Writing barely distracts me from the pain :(**

**Maybe the joy of getting reviews will distract me more (wink wink nudge nudge)**

**Drabble: Driving  
><strong>**Rose POV**

I grinned evilly, satisfied with the plan I had just formulated.

"Lissa! Can I borrow your Porsche?"

Murmured assent from her office.

Ten minutes later, I screeched up to the wing of palace housing in which Dimitri and I lived.

Dimitri stared at the shiny yellow sports car. "Roza, what-"

I rolled down the window. "Get in."

"But-"

"Get in," I commanded.

He slowly opened the passenger side door and slid into the dark leather seat.

Ignoring his confused expression, I stepped on the gas pedal. Ten… twenty… forty… when I got on the main roads, I pretty much floored it. The speedometer shot past eighty immediately.

"Rose! What do you think you're doing? You're-"

I shushed him. Over the roar of the engine, I heard a soft wailing. It slowly grew louder until I saw flashing blue and red lights in the rearview mirror, signaling for me to pull over. Perfect.

Weaving in and out of the lanes, I quickly sped away from the cop car. Despite Dimitri's protests, I deftly maneuvered the steering wheel, racing ahead of the other cars.

It was ten minutes into the cop chase until I decided to pull over. When the officer walked up to my window, a furious expression on his face, I flashed my (forged, courtesy of Abe) driver's license and my guardian ID. He looked at them quickly and nodded. The flushed look on his face slowly dissipated- in the event that we were arrested by human police, all guardian IDs had a certain insignia on them that signified we were to be granted amnesty. After warning us to be careful, the cop left and got back into his vehicle.

"Well," I said cheerfully as I put the car in drive again, "I do believe I have proven my worth in getaway car driving. In fact, I'm pretty darn sure I did better than you did when we were on the run."

Dimitri gaped at me- the badass Russian god caught off guard wasn't something you saw often.

When we were searching for Jill, Dimitri let me drive.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm pretty darn sure that Rose is high in this drabble. <strong>

**Snowflake: Yeah, definitely. She must've been visiting Howie's **_**herb**_ **cabin.**

**Sage: Lol yeah. BTW That's a TRC ref.**

**Snowflake: (I finished it before her XP)**

**Sage: SHUT UP! I HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE! YOU WERE FREE TO SIT AROUND AND READ THAT NIGHT! Anyway, I finished all the other books before you.  
><strong>**Also, I know that sports cars use stick shift, but I don't know how to drive a car, much less a car with manual transmission , so I decided to ignore that fact (dem Americans, right? We're too lazy to use it. Actually, when my brother was about seven, my dad taught him manual transmission and he would do the stick while my dad steered. But soon after that cars with stick shift became obsolete in the US). The guilt of being factually inaccurate is killing me. **

**Snowflake: Saying that you don't know how to drive a car hints at your age, woman.**

**Sage: Doesn't getting braces do that too? And you didn't object to that...hopefully there are no stalkers on this site :P Make sure to review!**


	12. Brother

**For the sake of this drabble, let's just say that Rose never lost her shadow-kissed abilities.**

**Drabble: Brother**

**RPOV**

Dimitri stood frozen at the entrance to the cemetery. His features were schooled into a blank guardian mask, but I could see from the echo of panic in the depths of his eyes that he was definitely not all right.

I took one of his hands in both of mine. "Are you sure?"

He nodded; the motion looked painful. "Yes." His voice was hoarse. "Yes, I'm sure. I need to do this."

And so we walked slowly, silently into the field of gravestones together until we finally stopped in front of a small grey one. Its marble was still smooth and reflective, correlating with the date of death etched into the stone. Three years ago.

Dimitri clutched my hands tighter. His fingers trembled slightly.

"Ivan… мой брат," he whispered.

And suddenly, there he was, sitting on top of the gravestone.

Ivan's sandy blond hair and once-bright blue eyes were faded, like Mason's ghost had been the last few days I'd seen him. Still, he did something I'd never seen a ghost do before: he smiled.

"Ivan," I gasped. "He's-you're still _here?_"

Dimitri looked down at me sharply. "What did you say, Roza?"

"Ivan. There's Ivan, right there." I pointed to him. "And he's still here, after all this time…"

Ivan's smile grew. "I've… been waiting… for you. Rose… and Dimka."

Dimitri stared at the spot I pointed to as if it were his lifeline. "Ivan, my brother, I miss you. I'm so sorry."

Ivan shook his head gently. "It… was not your… fault. Was... fate... meant to be."

Silent tears dripped down Dimitri's cheeks. I reached up and wiped them away with my fingers.

"It's okay," I whispered. "Ivan doesn't blame you. He says it was meant to be."

Dimitri's chest began to quake with sobs as he shook his head emphatically. "I-I know. It's just so hard…"

"He doesn't blame you," I repeated softly, wrapping an arm around his midsection. "He's all right, Dimitri. He's found peace."

"Hope you...find yours," Ivan's voice was growing faint. "About… time. You… deserve… it, my bro...ther. And Rose… my sister."

With that, Ivan vanished, leaving us alone in the serene, grassy field.

* * *

><p><strong>I nearly made myself cry while writing this. But the mood was killed when I had to open a thesaurus. 'Twas also killed by the fact that I was the one writing it… and I knew how the mood was gonna be so I had to tailor the word choice to make it fit. The Russian means "my brother." Also, do you know how hard it was to have Rose relay Ivan's words without having the moment seem repetitive and cheesy? I hope I pulled it off well.<br>Also, I HATE how the doc manager says that "Dimitri" is not a word. Dimitri is an effing word, doc manager. YOU'RE not a word, doc manager. He's a badass Russian god. You dare contradict his awesomeness? OK, I'm done with my insane rant.**

**Make sure to review and send in some prompts! Also, there's a poll on my profile. Check it out.**


	13. Sleepover Part 1

**Whooooooo no school! Snow day! Lots of writing! This one's for XxSapphirebloodxX, the 50th (and 51st) reviewer, who requested some Christian/Rose sibling fun. Enjoy :) Thanks for all the reviews. BTW, I've decided that every 50 reviews, the reviewer gets a priority prompt. So the 100th reviewer is next!**

**Drabble: Sleepover**

**RPOV**

I groaned and rolled over on the couch, cellophane crackling under me as I did so. After tossing the empty chip bag on the floor, I stretched my sore limbs.

What a life.

Blinking sleepily, I looked around the room. Opposite me, Christian's slumped figure was sprawled over the futon, snores emanating from his open mouth. Beautiful.

I picked up a cushion that was resting on my stomach and took aim. _Thwack._

"Wha!" Christian jolted awake. "Fuck, Rose. What the hell was that for?" He rubbed the spot on his chest that I'd hit, muttering, "How does a stuffed piece of cloth manage to hurt so much?"

I grinned. "Because I was the one who threw it. So," I yawned, sitting up slowly, "whaddya wanna do now? Lissa and Dimitri are coming home tonight, and we better make the best of our time."

Lissa was on a business trip to a Moroi neighborhood on the outskirts of Moscow. Because of the fact that I was still recuperating from getting shot and that I wasn't familiar with the Russian language, Hans had gotten Dimitri to go with her instead of me. I hadn't been happy about it, but knew it was the logical thing to do.

Still, though, the past week had been hard. After sharing an apartment and a bedroom with him for the past few weeks, I'd discovered that I had difficulties sleeping on my own. Christian had confessed the same, much to my amusement, and thus we decided to have a five-day-long sleepover of sorts.

"_I can't wait until this show gets on the road," he said. "You and me are going to have so much fun, Rose. Picking out curtains, doing each other's hair, telling ghost stories..."_

It seemed like Christian's words from so long ago had come true. Except for the fact that he refused to let me braid his hair, and the palace interior designer had pretty much bitched us out when we tried to tear down the expensive drapes in the hallway. Afterwards though, we'd had our revenge on her. We'd snuck into her office and moved all the furniture around, which would probably disturb the "feng shui" of the room, or whatever she called it. Then we'd superglued her laptop and coffee mug to her desk and stuck Post-its (with drawings of certain parts of the male anatomy on them) all over her walls.

It was definitely worth the complaints we would get from her later to hear her startled shrieks from down the hall.

"Well?" I said after Christian had remained silent for a while. "Any ideas? Or are you such a boring person that you can't even come up with something fun to do?"

"I have something," he replied slowly, ignoring my jab. "But there's a good chance that we would burn down the guardian training center."

"When a pyromaniac such as you lives in Court, it's a wonder that all of the buildings are still standing," I joked. "What's your idea?"

He told me.

**SnowflakeSoup hasn't looked at this drabble (she's been MIA for about three hours so far) but I decided to post anyway. Also, she's almost done with chapter five of her original story (which we worked on a lot this morning) and will post as soon as it is completed. Hopefully that will happen tonight... I'm writing this in two parts. Part two is in progress and will presumably be up by 8:00 PM EST today. Who has any guesses as to what Christian's idea is? Review and check out my poll.**


	14. Sleepover Part 2

**Drabble: Sleepover Part 2 (aka Contest)**

**RPOV**

I'd always wondered if a Moroi could throw their element of specialization with as much accuracy as a guardian could throw a knife or a stake. Today I would find out, I guess. As Christian and I walked down to the training center in the guardian building, I called up one of Christian's other guardians.

"This is Hathaway," I said, using my professional guardian voice. Yeah, I had one. It was necessary, because being a pretty teenage girl didn't always score you the most guardian-respect points. Once I had a chance to spar with the other guardians, though…

I continued speaking. "Lord Ozera would like a dozen training dummies to be set out in the training center's backlawn. Do it as soon as possible."

The guardian on the other end sounded surprised and confused, but complied with my wishes.

When we arrived at the grassy area behind the training center, the dummies were lined up away from the building, which was good. We'd joked about burning it down, but had no intentions of actually doing so.

"You ready?" I asked Christian, a grin slowly spreading over my face.

"Hell, yeah. I'm gonna own you."

"We'll see about that, Pyro. I've had years of precision training, whereas you… not so much. Okay, here's how it's gonna go. I get six targets, you get six targets. Whoever hits the most dummies on a fatal point gets bragging rights."

He nodded, taking a deep breath.

My grin grew as I pulled out a set of assorted throwing knives. "I'll go first."

I stood in front of the first target, took careful aim, and threw the knife. _Thud._

It had landed smack in the middle of the dummy's chest. Score. I picked up the next knife and aimed for the next target, getting the same result. One after another, I threw the knives and each landed precisely where I aimed for.

"Your turn, Chris," I smirked. "See if you can top that."

He shrugged, unfazed at my knife-throwing prowess. "Step back," he warned. Raising his hands, he gazed intently at the dummy in front of him and-

Holy shit.

I'd assumed he would simply conjure a small fireball and throw it, but instead he'd blasted a whole torrent of flames at the dummy like a dragon would. I stared at the charred remains of his target.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.

"I'm trying to beat you," he answered, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. _Fwoosh._ He sent another torrent of flames towards a second dummy.

"Yes, but-"

"Shh," Christian said. "I'm trying to focus." There went a third dummy. Then a fourth. By the time he was done, all that remained of his "victims" were blackened stumps of plastic and wood. An acrid burning smell filled the air.

"I guess that was a tie," I said slowly.

He looked outraged. "But- but I pretty much annihilated those dummies. You only-"

My phone rang. Surprisingly, it was Lissa. Wasn't she still on the plane?

"Hello?" I pressed the speaker button so Christian could hear that it was Lissa.

"Rose." Her voice was flat and dangerous. "Why did I just receive an email from Hans saying that you and Christian have been terrorizing my advisors and setting things on fire?"

"Um, it's not like that," I said quickly. How had Hans known about our pranks on the interior designer? And how did he find out what we were currently doing?

"Then you had better explain to me what in the world you've been doing the past few days while Dimitri and I have been gone. You know that just because you're my guardian and he's my boyfriend doesn't mean you guys have free reign over the place."

"We… have been… promoting the practice of Moroi offensive magic. And discouraging actions that question the Queen's power of making her own responsible decisions."

Christian bobbed his head in agreement, even though Lissa couldn't see him. "Yes, darling. We've been very respectful and supportive of your beliefs the past few days. You know how the interior designer always gives you hell about the decor in our suite? We managed to keep her at bay. Presumably she'll be keeping quiet for the next few days. And also, we have just helped to prove," he looked around at the stunned guardians who had come to investigate the smoke they'd seen rising from behind the training center, "that Moroi can indeed hold their ground as well as guardians while fighting Strigoi. It's all gone wonderfully. You don't need to worry about us."

"Hmm." Lissa still sounded suspicious.

"Really, Lissa," I said. "We're doing fine. We're doing good things."

Christian butted in. His voice was soft and husky as he said, "I am quite able to satisfy peoples' needs and wishes, Lissa. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you when you come back to our bedroom tonight."

Eww… I did not need to hear that. Even so, I could hear Lissa's giggling from the other side. "Oh, I see. Well, carry on with your noble ways and don't let me stop you. See you tonight." She hung up.

Christian and I shared a content, knowing look. Even when we messed around, we managed to do some "good."

**Sorry I'm late. I was helping Snowflake with her story. This was more of a oneshot/twoshot than a drabble, but it was a lot of fun to write. **

**Anyone out there like R&B or indie (aka "hipster" music)? Try "Brain" by BANKS. It's life-changing, I swear. I'm currently listening to her album "Goddess" to keep the creative juices flowing.**

**OMFG I AM SO EFFING EXCITED! SNOWFLAKE FINALLY POSTED HER FIRST CHAPTER ON FICTIONPRESS! It's called "A Distorted History," genre is Fantasy/Romance, and her username is SnowflakeSoup. Also, she's gonna post one of her old completed stories as well. Check her stuff out, please. ****She's awesome. The link to her profile/stories is on my profile. Review (for this or for ADH) and you'll get to terrorize annoying people at Court with Christian :) Don't forget to check out my poll!**


	15. Purpose

**Drabble: Purpose**

**Abe POV**

I liked to think I was a powerful person. I was wealthy and infamous because of the work I did; feared and respected by Moroi internationally. Yet I was absolutely nothing inside.

My business associates… they all had children of their own. Whom they loved, cherished, spoiled, and spent so much time with. They were happily married, too.

And I? I had a daughter. I had only met her once- when she was first born. Her mother and I only spoke via email.

What was my life, really? A dull repetition of making business deals (legal and illegal), flying around the world, and counting my bank balance. I had no one else to live for.

When I was nearly forty years old, I finally found my purpose; some semblance of family. Meeting my eighteen-year-old daughter was like a dream. Rose was young, beautiful, and brave, but so full of pain. Being a father, I had to make sure she stayed safe, but she, of course, had other plans. (With my genes, how could she not?)

After she returned to the States, after she broke one of the most wanted criminals out of the prison with the most security in the world, after she was accused of high treason, after she was nearly shot and nearly killed, after she became the queen's head guardian…

Rose, Janine, and I tried our best to build a parent-daughter bond, and succeeded much better than what was expected of three people who hadn't seen, or even known each other, for eighteen years of the so-called relationship. Dimitri was quickly welcomed into the family, and we spent weekends together, talking and laughing; although none of us really said it, I knew that there was mutual love and understanding between the four of us.

Best part, though? When business associates showed up at my apartment at Court, I could introduce my family as the three most renowned guardians alive. How could their spoiled Moroi spouses and children compare to that?

T**hinking about Abe is interesting, especially his relationship with the other VA characters. I love speculating about Abe and Janine's relationship :) Don't forget to review and take a look at that poll!**


	16. Library

**This was BethIsMyName's idea, and I have to say it's so damn cute.**

**Drabble: Library**

**RPOV**

It wasn't often that you saw Rose Hathaway herself in the library. With extra practice taking up all of my time, I rarely read books on my own. When I did, it was usually stuff on St. Vladimir that was from the church.

But I was here, and let it be known that I had set foot in a library willingly. Lissa had mentioned some new teen fiction that she'd read "and it was so good and so cute and oh my gosh you have to read it!" What can I say? I indulge my best friend's whims, because it's not often that she's able to fangirl about something with everything else going on in our lives.

As I slowly scanned the teen novel section for the author's name, I noticed a tall figure standing in one of the shelves near the back, a couple of books in hand.

Dimitri.

Grinning, I sauntered up to him. "So, comrade. Are you here for more cowboy inspiration from those westerns of yours? Yeah, you've got the duster, but I can tell you right here that you need a horse to truly become a cowboy. And I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but animals hate dhampirs."

He smiled. "Yes. I've never realized that before, and I'm _so_ devastated. You've ruined my greatest ambition."

I laughed. I'd never seen him so at ease. Dimitri had never been so casually sarcastic with me like this. Deciding that I liked this side of him, I went on. "Of course you are. I know it's your secret dream, but alas, you're stuck living it vicariously."

The smile grew. "You know, being a cowboy and a guardian aren't too different."

"Oh?"

"They're both positions in law enforcement. But it's the Wild West versus, well, the Moroi world."

"Wild West versus urban fantasy. We're vampires, so technically we would be classified as urban fantasy."

"It's nice to know we're simply the subject of human fantasies, that we don't actually exist," he replied, the corners of his mouth twitching. My gaze zeroed in on that small motion. Those lips looked so soft and oh, the feel of them on mine…

Suddenly, I noticed that he was staring at me. And that I'd been staring at his mouth for quite a while. He turned towards me, his intense gaze seeing straight into my soul. I took a step closer to him. My breath caught as our lips met, and passion sparked a fire inside me. Slowly, I wrapped my hands around his neck.

When we finally broke apart, Dimitri looked at me with an emotionless expression on his face, so different than the easy smile he'd worn moments ago. I braced myself for the "that shouldn't have happened" or the "that was a mistake" or the "don't do that again."

Instead, he smiled down at me and wrapped a strong, reassuring arm around my shoulder.

**Sorry I haven't updated the past week. However, I am VERY excited to say that I have been working on something big and it's nearly ready to be published! The characters are so damn cute w Even though they're older than me. Just slowly slipping my age out there now…**

**Snowflake: She be writing original content :O**

**Sage: Yeah. It's not fanfiction. So no Romitri, but the primary ship is SO CUTE OMG! If you're interested, I'll tell you where to find it once it's published.**

**Snowflake: I never thought I'd see the day you'd write original content… *sniff sniff* I'm so proud!**

**Review, please! Check out my poll!**


	17. These Nights Part 1

**It's a late night despite the fact that I finished my homework long ago, and I'm enjoying some soft indie-folk. Feeling so peaceful :)**

**Drabble: These Nights**

**RPOV**

After Lissa and I decided to sign up for a ballet class at Lehigh, I learned that dancing and sparring were somehow very alike. They used the same passion and energy, just for varying purposes. I grew to very much enjoy the weekly classes in the mirrored studio with soft, warbling piano music and wooden bars along one side.

I had been doing some cooling stretches at the conclusion of ballet class when my earpiece crackled to life. "Guardian Hathaway, are you available? Lord Ozera and Guardian Belikov are here for you and Queen Vasilisa."

"We're almost done." I spoke so quietly that no one around me heard but Lissa, and her head snapped up at my words. "Give us five minutes." Anticipation bubbled inside me. Today was Friday, which meant that we were going home for the weekend. Dimitri and Christian often came to pick us up when this happened, maximizing the time we spent with our significant others.

As I stepped out of the studio in my converse and crop sweatshirt worn on top of the ballet attire, I spotted two men leaning casually against the opposite wall. One was pale and had inky black hair, but the other had tanned skin and chocolate brown hair-

"Dimitri!"

Several of the girls exiting with me looked startled at my outburst, but I didn't care. I ran and threw my arms around him, taking in his delicious scent.

He chuckled into my hair. "I've missed you too, Roza." Leaning back to look at me, he smiled. "You look beautiful, as always."

I grinned back. "And you're looking as handsome as ever, Comrade." I kissed him chastely on the lips; we were in public after all. And despite what everyone believed, I did have limits.

Lissa coughed slightly, drawing our attention. "Let's go," she said. "I'd like to get home before night falls so we don't have any run-ins with, um, you know." She glanced nervously at the humans still standing around and looking at Dimitri's tall, handsome figure with interest.

I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. 'The best fight is one avoided' and all that."

After I got mine and Lissa's overnight bags out of our dorms, we were all set to go.

Climbing into the shotgun seat of the black Cadillac SUV, I let myself relax into the leather upholstery. Every time I was with Dimitri, I immediately felt so at ease and so at home. I guess that's what happens when you're in love.

**Part one of two. This'll be cute and fluffy.**

**AHHHH YAYAYAYAYAY I HAVE POSTED MY FIRST ORIGINAL STORY! It's called "A Tale of Headphones and Sharks" and is a collab story between Snowflake and me, which means that both Snowflake and I created and wrote it! It has been posted on SnowflakeSoup's FictionPress account; the link to her profile is on mine. Check it out, PLEASE. It is our pride and joy. And don't forget to review.**


	18. These Nights Part 2

**Feeling peaceful again. I feel like I write my best drabbles late at night.**

**Drabble: These Nights Part 2**

**RPOV**

The night was all-consuming, except for our little patch of life and light in the car traveling steadily along the dark rural road. I loved it- it reminded me of the wilderness in Montana, which was something not easily come by in the populous Northeastern US.

Judging from the peaceful quiet in the car, everyone else was enjoying this drive too. Or maybe they were just asleep, because I could hear soft snores coming from Christian and Lissa in the backseat.

Suddenly, Dimitri spoke up. "Do you remember," he said softly, gently, "that time in Idaho?"

It wasn't very specifically worded, but I knew what he was talking about. "Yeah," I replied in an equally soft tone. "I do."

"Do you remember the snow angels?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't make one, so I had to force you. You had fun in the end, didn't you?"

He chuckled slightly, then sobered. "After I was restored, I kept on thinking about that. How I saw you, the only thing in that entire expanse of white."

"That's kind of… dramatic."

Dimitri's lips quirked upwards in an amused smile. "In the days I was kept in that cell, I would close my eyes and see you lying there in the snow. A bit of love and color in a bleak, empty life. That's you, Roza. Before you, it was just a wide open stretch of nothingness."

Feeling a bit unsettled by this powerful declaration, I laughed nervously. "You talk about it like I'm the saving grace of your life."

"You are," he said seriously. "You were what told me I had to get up off the ground- that I couldn't keep feeling sorry about myself. You were what made my life worth living. You were- no, are- what makes me happy and complete. And I knew that even then, but I just didn't want to accept it." He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at me. "You're beautiful, Roza. I love you."

I leaned over slightly and rested my hand on his large warm ones as he steered. "I love you too, Comrade."

I could get used to more nights like these.

**Remember that scene in BP? One of my favorite scenes of the series, other than the chapel (and I do mean chapel, not cabin) scene in SK, and the alley scene with Donovan in LS. This drabble was partially based off my imagination, partially based off of one of the wonderful Orlissa's drabbles, and then my own life.**

**My family and I were driving around Yellowstone National Park in the summer; it was a pitch-black night and we were the only humans around that place for miles. Such a difference from the crowded cities of the Northeast. I loved it- so quiet, so… apocalyptic is the only word I can think of, but in a positive connotation. We drove from Wyoming and into Montana that night, and I was so excited: Eek! I'm somewhat close to finding St. Vlad's Academy. Review (and check out A Tale of Headphones and Sharks on FictionPress, written by Snowflake and me) and Dimitri will say all that cutesy stuff to you!**


	19. Rain

**A noontime drabble this time :) It literally took me five minutes to write.**

**Drabble: Rain**

**Lissa POV**

I remember that when Rose and I were about six, we organized a picnic for the whole family. It was going to be at a park near the Dragomir estate, and we'd gotten my mom to book a pavilion and all the accommodations we needed. The cook had made special sandwiches and snacks for the occasion. Rose and I had picked out our dresses and given Andre a fancy bowtie. I was so excited- everything was perfect.

When the day of the picnic came, it was pouring outside.

I cried so hard. Life was so unfair; we had worked so hard on making things the best they could possibly be- and then it was all ruined.

Mom spoke to me sternly, telling me that things don't always turn out the way we want them to, that life had so many difficulties and this was far from the worst of it, that I was a strong girl, and that I would have to find a way to _make_ things get better when life was rained on.

I hated those words. I didn't want to be strong, to face hardships. I wanted to be little Lissa forever. I wanted a simple, happy, fairytale life with my prince and my best friend Rose.

I also remember that the day of the car crash that killed my family, it was raining too.

**I imagine Rhea is speaking from experience: that she somehow knows about Emily Mastrano and she's just dealing with it by keeping quiet and being a dutiful and loving wife to Eric. I feel so bad for her :(**

**Many thanks to BethIsMyName for checking out A Tale of Headphones and Sharks. I wish you warm and fuzzy visits from Mako, Char, and Romitri! Also, guess how many prompts I have? Nine. They're running out fast, so please send in some new ones.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	20. Moving

**I've always thought that it was weird that people automatically thought Rose and Dimitri would be allowed to move in with each other after LS. Of course I want that to happen, but there's something called guardian protocol...**

**Drabble: Moving**

**Lissa POV (Again, but this time it's third person)**

After Lissa learned that Rose and Dimitri's request to be assigned the same apartment had been denied twice already, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

So she marched into the Head Guardian's office and demanded that they would be allowed to move in together.

"But that's preposterous!" Hans Croft exclaimed, outraged.

"No, Guardian Croft. It's not. I'm allowing- no, encouraging them to do it."

Hans stood up from his desk. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, it's just not right to-"

"Lissa. Call me Lissa," she said firmly, standing up as well. "And it's perfectly all right. After all, Guardian Belikov was assigned to Christian as was Rose assigned to me. Christian and I are living together, and to ensure better protection, why not have our guardians remain in the closest vicinity as possible to each other? It improves communication."

Hans looked perturbed. "If the other royals find out that two esteemed guardians have been, ah, _involved_ with each other, and have been allowed to maintain this relationship, then there will be complaints of a lack of professionality in the guardian system. And you, Your Majesty, of all people, should know that we have to keep up reputations."

She nodded. "Yes. I agree, we do."

"You-you agree?"

Smiling softly, Lissa said, "As the center for Moroi all over the world, yes, we do indeed have to keep up reputations, as well as set an example."

"So you agree that we can't allow Hathaway and Bel-"

"No," she cut in. "But as Queen, I have to ensure that our ruling system is as just as possible. I hear the opinions of all my people, and that includes dhampirs. If we set an example for fair treatment of dhampirs, then perhaps the rest of our population will accept it. After all, it's about time dhampirs had a say in what was done with them. They do risk their lives to protect the Moroi."

Hans was speechless.

After that meeting, Lissa gave Rose and Dimitri the go-ahead, and they moved into an apartment on the top floor of the palace a week later.

* * *

><p><strong>Sometimes I think people forget that Queen Lissa can be as badass with words as Rose is badass with her actions.<strong>

**Sage: *Writes "Hans looked perturbed."***

**Snowflake: *butts in and adds "b-but lissa, they had sex!"***

**Sage: LOLLLLLLLLLLLL PLS SNOWFLAKE**

**Snowflake: :D**


	21. Cake

**Can I rant a little bit to you guys? So we have a major paper due in English class tomorrow, and I'm currently peer editing an essay. And I can barely comprehend what this boy is writing; his sentences are so incoherent. He's missing quotations and textual evidence from his sources, which are required. He's also missing the required blurb about how each source relates to the thesis statement. He can't even punctuate, capitalize, or spell correctly. I guarantee you, he won't get above an 80%. And he's not responding to any of my numerous suggestions. Still, he's far from the worst in my grade. Our school is in the top 10% of public schools in the US, and they teach students that turn out like this? My fourth grade self (and I was the youngest in the grade then, only eight years old) wrote better essays than he does currently. I'm losing faith in this generation.**

**Drabble: Cake**

**DPOV**

Because I wasn't able to, er, be there for Rose's eighteenth birthday, I was determined to make her nineteenth something special. It honestly guilted me day and night, missing my Roza's birthday, her trials, and her graduation, after I promised I'd never leave her. When I'd voiced my feelings to Rose, however, she'd said that I should "shut up because it's not even your damn fault." And so I did.

I threw myself into arranging Rose's party, despite the fact that I had no experience whatsoever with these kinds of affairs. With Lissa's help, though, it wasn't really hard. She hired the top Moroi party planners, performers, and caterers to organize the celebration, and managed the planning like only a queen would.

While she was dealing with the more extravagant parts of the party, I worked on making things personal and as Rose-ish as possible. I told Lissa that since Rose lived for sugary things, specifically donuts, I'd make the cake. After all, I knew what she liked best. Well…

The truth was, I knew what she liked best, just not what kind of cake she liked best. I didn't know if she preferred chocolate or vanilla, sponge or mousse, or anything else that mattered in a cake. Our time at the academy together hadn't involved discussing cake. All I knew was that she loved chocolate-glazed donuts.

Wait… hold on…

That is the story of how I ended making a chocolate-glazed donut cake for Rose's birthday.

(In hindsight, I think that if I proposed right after she saw the cake, she would have said yes- even though she had just turned nineteen.)

**I would like a chocolate donut cake, please. And Dimitri Belikov. And enough money to hire Richelle Mead to write Romitri fluff forever. And a flying unicorn for a pet. :D.**

**Well, at least I can ask for something I'll be getting. Reviews, please? Prompts?**


	22. Snow

**Happy ****元宵节 ****to those who celebrate Chinese New Year! My family doesn't have any lanterns up… but we did eat a lot of tangyuan/yuanxiao or whatever you wanna call it.**

**Drabble: Snow**

**DPOV**

It snowed a lot during the winter in Siberia. It also snowed a lot in the Rocky Mountains, where St. Vladimir's Academy was located. Due to the common weather occurrence, instruction and transportation were rarely interrupted when there was a huge storm. After all, if there were a snow day every time it precipitated more than four inches, then we wouldn't have had class about half of the time.

In Pennsylvania, things were entirely different. Yes, it did snow a lot, but just not as much compared to Siberia or Montana. People were less adapted to the cold weather, so we had snow days. A lot. Court would shut down; there would be no meetings and the steady flow into and out of the gates would cease. It was a rare time of quiet and peace in the busy capital of the Moroi world.

I built a fire in one of the private lounges in the palace and Lissa, Christian, Rose, Mia, Eddie, Jill, and I brought food, entertainment, and sleeping bags down into the room. There was no booze, though. Adrian visited Court too infrequently to influence us in that way, and besides, Sydney had changed him.

That night, we enjoyed a few simple (and quite inappropriate) party games from which I learned exactly who had joined the "mile high club", ate hot soup and entrees fresh from the palace kitchens, and spoiled ourselves with junky snacks galore. Though the best part of it was the laughter and love keeping the room warm despite the terrible weather that was only a mere wall away from us.

When we settled down for bed, I was content with my Roza snuggled up beside me as the winter storm raged on outside.

**Another weather one, but it's happy this time! Such fluff :) I love living in an area where snow is expected but not a daily occurrence in winter… it means that school is still cancelled when there's a dollop of frozen precipitation, like now :) *RUBY CIRCLE SPOILERS* Is anyone else really sad about how Sydney and Adrian can't live at Court with Rose, Dimitri, Lissa, and Christian? I want them to be a tightly knitted gang of inseparable friends :(**

**Review, please!**


	23. Westerns

**Drabble: Westerns**

**RPOV**

A week after Dimitri and I moved in together, my mother and Abe came to visit. It wasn't a planned thing, but I supposed it was the precursor to the (shudder) hunting trip they had proposed.

Needless to say, the atmosphere was extremely awkward in the beginning. Abe made thinly veiled threats in his "polite" small talk and my mom pretty much stayed silent and glared at either Dimitri or me the entire time. Dimitri responded politely to every query thrown his way, despite the fact that I could tell he was very uncomfortable. My attitude kind of mirrored my mom's, but it hardly showed on my face.

Oh, my parents were so loving and supportive.

Then, at a certain point in the "conversation," Abe's gaze zeroed in on a spot directly behind Dimitri's head.

"Is that… what I think it is?" he asked.

We all turned to look at his subject of fixation. It was a spot on the bookshelf… which held a framed picture of me pinning Dimitri during the field experience sparring match. Apparently some student had taken a picture of the moment. Lissa found it floating around on the Academy's Twitter page and sent it to us, expressing her mirth in a lengthy email.

In the picture, both of us were heavily flushed and wore intense yet jaded expressions. I was straddling Dimitri while hovering my practice stake above his chest while he stared up at me a tiny bit lustfully. Was Abe looking at this photograph? What did he think of it? Suddenly, it came to me that the picture might have seemed vaguely sexual to him- I was _on top _of Dimitri, after all. Besides, if I didn't know what the context of the photo was, I might have perceived it to be so. Oh no, I so wasn't going to be interrogated by my father about that kind of thing. No way.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Um, it's not-"

"That's _The Walking Drum _by Louis L'Amour," Abe said wonderingly. "You read that book?"

What was he talking about? Then I realized that there was a worn paperback novel sitting right beside the picture- one of Dimitri's westerns.

Dimitri nodded. "It's one of my favorites."

Abe's eyebrows shot up. "Really? It's one of mine too!"

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

As the men launched into an enthusiastic conversation about Louis L'Amour and their favorite westerns, I caught Janine's eye.

"They're better at fangirling than Lissa is," I whispered to her. She rolled her eyes and nodded in agreement.

**Yay! The ice is broken between Abe and Dimitri :) I've read a lot of western-themed drabbles that were about Rose reading them and finding them interesting/useful/entertaining, but I kind of thought that wasn't likely, what with her hatred of reading. So, here we are. Abe's a crazy fangirl.**

**Review, please!**


	24. Boyfriend

**Huge thanks to all my reviewers, followers, and favoriters. We've just passed 100 reviews and the views are close to 10,000. Love you guys! Updating early in commemoration.**

**Drabble: Boyfriend**

**DPOV**

After sharing a bedroom with Rose for a month, I'd learned something about her- she had her deepest thoughts in bed right before she fell asleep. For example, last week she had asked me: "_Why do thoughts come in trains? Why not monorails? Why not an angry mob threatening to break down the barriers of your mind?"_

But tonight, however, Rose wasn't quite as philosophical. Maybe she was just tired or something.

"What should I call you?"  
>I rolled over to look at her quizzically. "What do you mean? You call me Dimitri. Or comrade, sometimes."<p>

Giggling slightly, she shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Like, do I call you my boyfriend? That seems kinda immature, and you're far from a boy." She smirked playfully, placing a small hand on my chest. "I asked Christian what he considered us to be and he said 'fuck buddies.'" She snorted in disgust. "Like he and Lissa don't meet that description. But anyway, are we lovers? Partners? No, ugh. That makes us sound like a geriatric unmarried couple."

I certainly had not expected this. I had never really thought about this- placing a label on things was something I never did. After all, I knew that I loved Rose and she loved me, so it didn't really matter.

"What do you think?" Rose poked the middle of my chest impatiently.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "Does it really matter?"

"Of course it does!" She swatted my arm. "Like, when I introduce you to people, or vice versa because you seem to know so many more people than I do, should I say, 'This is my boyfriend, Dimitri Belikov' or what?"

"I don't know, I've never thought about placing a label on our relationship," I said, echoing my thoughts from before. "Is our love so difficult to express? It's just that- we love each other."

Roza smiled. "Yeah. We do." She yawned, turned over slowly, and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, I was shaken awake by a small, warm hand placed lightly on my bicep.

"Dimitri, wake up," Rose hissed.

I grunted. "Hmm?"

Her cross expression- not a good sign- came into view as she leaned over me. "You never answered my question from last night."

**By the way, the "trains of thought" thing was something that I asked Snowflake once. She seemed to find it immensely funny for some reason. Also, what do you think they should call each other? Boyfriend/girlfriend? Lovers? Partners? Or maybe even Christian's suggestion?**

**Second chapter of A Tale of Headphones and Sharks IS UP! Please take a look!**


	25. Marriage (It's a Boyfriend Pt 2, btw)

**I am so happy, I've decided to update twice today. OK, last night I went to bed with 99 reviews. Currently, I have 116. That's absolutely awesome, guys! Keep it up :) Big thanks to everyone who's supported this story and me as a writer. I honestly wasn't expecting to write this drabble, but some readers wanted an answer to the last and Ginevra Annabeth Herondale gave me a really good one (thanks!), so...**

**Drabble: Boyfriend Part 2 (aka Marriage, but don't get too excited)**

**DPOV**

"So Dimitri, what's your answer?" Rose walked into the kitchen and plopped down at the table. _Here we go again…_ Usually, these philosophical ramblings were never mentioned the following morning. I'd thought it was a night thing and only a night thing.

Swallowing my bite of eggs and toast, I said, "Same as last night."

She scowled at me. "That wasn't a real answer."

"Maybe not, but you have to admit that it was a romantic one." At least I thought it was, and in my opinion, I could be pretty romantic when I wanted to.

"Sometimes I think my presence in your life makes you the most annoying person you could ever be." Rose stabbed into her bacon moodily and chomped on it, every bite crunching loudly.

I gave her a sly look out of the corner of my eye. "...And what does that say about you?"

Her motions with her fork grew even more violent. "I think I may hate you as much as I love you."

"How interesting," I said in a mock surprised voice. "I find myself feeling the same way."

The animosity disappeared from Rose's expression for a second, replaced with her classic "I've-got-an-idea" look. "Ooh! That's another option! We could be in a love-hate relationship and be lovehaters… what do you think?"

"Hm," I mused. "I think…"

After a few seconds of silence, she slapped my arm. "Oh, my God, Dimitri. Answer the goddamn question or I'll whup your ass."

"I think if we got married, we wouldn't be having this problem," I said, smirking.

"Oh yes," Rose said in a pretend dreamy voice, flouncing up from her chair to put her plate in the sink. "The level of hate has certainly gone up at least ten percent."

**A little Romitri banter to warm me (and you guys, hopefully) up on this cold winter day… especially because I'm too lazy to get up and find a pair of socks. I was giggling the entire time I wrote this drabble and my dad was like ":( I thought you were doing Chinese homework… what are you laughing at?" I said, "N-nothing, it's just that the passage was a humorous one…"**


	26. Push and Pull

**Inspired by "push pull" by Purity Ring… I told you music affects my writing.**

**Drabble: Push and Pull**

**DPOV (so many these days!)**

Her hair was a wave of dark silk. The locks would frame her lovely face as she looked up at him with a reverence unimpaired, equal parts adoring and respectful. Her beautiful, vibrant spirit drew him like a moth to a flame.

Her lips were soft and sweet- he remembered them from the night when she had appeared at his door in that beautiful black dress. Every touch of hers had left a trail of fire, every look had pierced his soul. How he longed to feel the smooth skin and buzzing energy beneath his fingertips again...

But he couldn't. She was so young and fair and true. She would never be his.

He pushed out and pulled away, telling himself no.

He tried to kill his emotions, to let his hot-blooded veins grow cold.

But no matter what happened, even as the stars turned and the winds whirled around them, he still held on to her and didn't let go.

**I have no idea what made me write this drabble, but I love it. It's so powerful.**

**Also, it didn't show up on the public VA page for whatever reason, but I did post a drabble between this one and "Boyfriend"- it's a Boyfriend Part Two of sorts. So click the "previous chapter" button and take a look!**


	27. Constellation Lair (No Light)

**I woke up this morning craving a happy ending to the last drabble… and decided to write two other parts to the "Push and Pull" series. Because they're so short, I'm posting them at the same time.**

**Drabble: Constellation Lair **

**DPOV**

At night he dreamed of being with her.

Every day together was filled with laughter and warmth. He built the rustic cabin in the woods that they once joked about, a treehouse out back to gaze at the stars in the night sky. They lived far away from the prying eyes of society.

He was able to love her properly- there were no stolen kisses, no holding back for the sake of sparing judgement from others, no regrets.

She wouldn't be full of scars inside and out- and neither would he. They would be the young, unburdened ones they could have been if it were a different life.

When he woke up, he would force down the ache in his chest and brace himself for another day of being with her; her beautiful, fiery passion; her deadly personality; her unique way of making the most intense dances with death seem like a lithe ballet.

He would brace himself for another day of faked emotions, of pretending there was nothing between them.

**Honestly, there's only a tiny relation between the drabble and the title (the treehouse where they stargaze), but I love the title. I'm rolling with it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Drabble: No Light (well, actually, there is light, this is kinda a misnomer as well) <strong>

He is finally with her.

It took so many dark nights and then so many days of no light, but he is here. With her. And at least somewhat at peace.

She crept up in him, he supposes. Her undying will and strength and the knowledge- which he didn't even have in himself at the time- that he would have to heal; it crept up in him until it was so obvious he knew he couldn't deny it. Despite seeing the raring fear in her eyes and the bruises on her neck night after night, despite tasting the blood of innocent victims in every stake he raises.

He'll never forget those memories, but with her help, he hopes he'll be able to carve them out into a separate being. She used to learn from him, and he supposes it's time to learn from her.

She once told him that the man with the red eyes wasn't him. She still doesn't blame him for the pain he caused her.

And God, he loves her for it.

**Snowflake allowed me to write this one in present tense, and I'm happy. If this one was in past tense, it would be just weird.**

**Snowflake: Yeah. One of the few times I'm making the exception. :)**

**Review and you'll get to dream of a perfectly Romitri world 3**


	28. Pimpleface

**Drabble: Pimpleface**

**RPOV**

I thought graduating from St. Vladimir's would mean the end of immature boys trying to get in my pants. Unfortunately, Lehigh University had its fair share of them.

"One date?" A pimply-faced, scrawny boy begged me.

"No, sorry," I said firmly. I felt kind of bad for being so cold, but I knew that if I showed the pity I really felt, he might think he still had a chance.

"Come on, it's just one!"

"I said no." Would he ever give up?

"Why not?"

I sighed. "I just can't." Just like I couldn't sock this sorry guy in the face- no matter how much I wanted to.

"That's not a reason," he pointed out.

I dropped any pretense of civility I had left, a glare emerging from the depths of my eyes. If possible, his chalky pallor paled even more. "Fine. First of all, you're clearly not my type, to put it politely. Second of all, I'm-"

"Wait," he said. "Are you lesbian or something?"

I blinked. And burst out laughing.

"Oh- uh, so I guess-" Pimple-face stammered.

"Excuse me," I heard a familiar voice- warm, rich bass tones, slightly accented- interrupt from behind me. Turning, I grinned up at Dimitri.

"Hey, comrade," I greeted him cheerfully.

He tossed me a preoccupied smile. "Hello, Roza. Where's Vasilisa?"

I nodded across the commons to where Lissa was heading over to us. "She's coming. We're all packed and ready."

"Good," Dimitri replied as he glared at the guy next to me. "And who's this?"

So that was what had been on his mind.

"Honestly, I have no idea," I answered. "He just decided to, well, um-"

"Are you her boyfriend?" Pimple-face asked Dimitri with wide eyes.

"Yes, I am," Dimitri growled. "And I'd suggest you don't question that fact."

Pimple-face gulped, taking a few steps back. "Y-yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah, okay."

Lacing my fingers through Dimitri's, I nodded. "Let's go." I spared a last glance at the poor pimple-faced boy, waving slightly.

In response, he gulped and made a sound similar to that of a strangled fish.

**Poor Pimple-face. He's gonna be forever alone at this rate… But it serves him right. Cuz he's damn annoying. What kind of guy is just like "Oh, so if I'm not your type then you MUST be lesbian"? No. Just no.**

**Snowflake: lol yeah. Dimitri's death glare though XD**

**Sage: I love a man with a death glare that can match mine.**

**Snowflake: Like Mako's death glare. Mrs. Arnolds, you watch out! (A Tale of Headphones and Sharks, if you don't know. Go read it already!)**

**Sage: Yes, please do!**

**Review and perhaps you'll get to sock Pimple-face in his pimply face. (That's more than what Rose gets to do!)**


	29. Braid

**Drabble: Braid**

**RPOV**

After becoming a guardian, I braided my hair more often. It wasn't a fashion choice, no, I just simply realized that there would be less of a chance of my bun falling out and into my face during a fight if I braided it first.

Every morning, I'd sit in front of the vanity and pull my thick, dark tresses into a high ponytail, braid it tightly, and then twist the long rope into a knot at the top of my head. Dimitri would watch me conduct this entire process, completely captivated, never looking away to make his own preparations to go on duty as he did so.

The first time I tried this new method, I asked, "Is there something wrong?" His mesmerization with my hairdo was kind of unsettling.

Eyes still glued to my deftly weaving fingers, he replied, "Um, no…"

"What is it then?"

Dimitri frowned. "I don't know… it's fascinating, you braiding hair."

"Obviously," I snorted. "But why? I mean, you've got three sisters. Have you never seen them do their hair before?"

The frown increased, furrowing his brow. "I have," he said slowly.

"For God's sake, Belikov, then why are you staring at me like I've got two heads?"

"Your hair is beautiful," Dimitri stated simply.

"Okay." I sighed in resignation, realizing that I probably wasn't going to get a logical answer out of him.

When I came back to the apartment after my late-night shift, I found Dimitri sprawled out on the couch, asleep with a western novel in hand. His duster was draped over him like a blanket. I could hear him snoring ever so slightly, the hair that had fallen over his nose fluttering like a windblown leaf every time he exhaled.

It was too cute for words.

Walking over to the couch, I was about to shake him awake and get him to come to bed, but as I watched his brown locks breeze around as if caught by a current of water, an idea suddenly came to me.

Perhaps it was from that day's earlier hair-related episode that I'd gotten my inspiration, but if he liked braids that much…

Being the man he was, Dimitri didn't notice anything unusual with his appearance the next morning until a nearby guardian in the office commented on the impeccably plaited waterfall braid he was sporting.

The guardian chuckled. "Nice 'do, man."

***Sniggers* That's why it's important that you check your reflection before leaving the house, Dimitri!**

**Snowflake: But wouldn't he notice that his hair felt different?**

**Sage: SHHHH DON'T QUESTION MY CREATIVE LICENSE I THOUGHT OF THAT TOO BUT DECIDED TO IGNORE IT SHHHHHHHHHH**

**Snowflake: XDDDDDDDDDD On a side note, chapter three of A Tale of Headphones and Sharks is up! Go check it out already!**

**Sage: Yes, please do. **

**After posting "Pimpleface", I was talking to one of my guy friends and realized that I modeled Pimple-face almost exactly after him. And I didn't even realize it! o_O My subconscious has a model for "most annoying and pathetic guy on the planet"- pimply, skinny, pale, rude, physically awkward, and hella annoying. And he's also the reason why I can't show St. Vlad's school spirit- his name is Vlad. Wearing a shirt with his name on it and calling him a saint is something I WILL NOT, I REPEAT, WILL NOT, DO.**

**Also, Bethismyname has established a cult solely for the purpose of taking the piss out of Pimple-face. Anyone wanna join? XD**

**Review and two things will happen: Dimitri will stare at you and call you beautiful, and you'll get to braid his hair.**


	30. Stake

**Drabble: Stake**

**DPOV**

For her graduation, he was going to give her a stake. Engraved with- no, not roses, he knew she wouldn't like that- but with a traditional geometric pattern originating from Siberia. From his home, his heart.

It would have been a symbol of his love to her.

He bought the stake, admired the smooth silver blade and the fine leather hilt, and asked for the pattern to be etched into the metal.

But before the engraving could be finished and the stake returned to him, his heart became that of the monster she was destined to bury her weapon in. And one day, she did thrust the stake into his chest, embedding it into his cold, soulless flesh.

They parted ways after that, she believing him to be dead.

He wasn't. After drifting down the Ob in a state of blackness, he slowly reopened his blood-colored eyes. He dislodged the blade from in between his ribs and washed it clean. Then he painstakingly (no pun intended) and carefully etched the design onto the metal. But he did not love it- or her. He did not love.

But the stake was still from his heart, in a way.

**I love how in the internal monologue third person DPOVs, I never mention his name once. DX Irony, I hate you when you're in sad situations. It's like "oh this is a heartbreaking point and then the irony has to add insult to the injury."**

**Snowflake: Dimitri ;_;**

**Review and Dimitri will gift you a present from his heart :)**


	31. Belly Button Piercing

**To Celeste (Guest): Your lovely review made my day! Go check out A Tale of Headphones and Sharks on FictionPress; it's written by my friend SnowflakeSoup and me. Updated every Friday :) Thank you to everyone for your reviews, follows, and favorites!**

**Drabble: Belly Button Piercing**

**RPOV**

I stared enviously at the swimsuit model on the cover of the magazine that sat on Lissa's coffee table. But the envy wasn't directed towards her perfect hourglass figure or her smooth, tanned skin or her full breasts- I had all those.

No, I was looking at the sparkly piece of bling dangling from the model's belly button. It was delicate and beautiful, yet edgy and sexy at the same time.

Dimitri noticed my fixation. "What's wrong?" He carefully studied the cover of the magazine and frowned. "You're beautiful, Roza. A hundred times more beautiful than her."

I smiled at the wonderful boyfriend-ness of his statement. "It's not that. I know I'm beautiful." Both of us smirked, but mine was followed by a sigh.

"I've always wanted a belly button piercing."

Dimitri blinked. "Okay."

"I'm serious," I said. "They're something I've been looking at since I was fourteen."

"Yes, I get it. I'm saying, okay, get one if you really want to."

I raised both my eyebrows, because I couldn't do just one. "Really?"

"Sure. I'm supportive of your decisions- as long as they're not foolish ones."

"Hey!" I elbowed Dimitri lightly. "My decisions aren't foolish! Yeah, they may be reckless sometimes, but that's kind of Abe's fault. And even when they're stupid, some good comes out of them. Like that time I snuck into a lounge with Jesse- you saw me in a bra the first time _and _you agreed to teach me how to fight."

Laughing, Dimitri said, "Your logic never ceases to amuse me."

"I aim to please," I said mockingly. "So you're sure? I can get one?"

"Of course. I'm your boyfriend, Roza. Not your father."

I leaned into his chest. God, I loved this man.

"And Roza?" He suddenly seemed slightly nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Would it make you feel better about the belly button piercing if I told you that I was thinking of getting a tattoo of your name?"

**There shall be a part two if you guys want one. Review and your boyfriend/girlfriend (or fictional crush) will support your reckless yet much-wanted decision in a gallant display of perfect-coupleness!**


	32. Permanent

**Oh, my gosh, guys! I am totally blown away by all the wonderful support and reviews I've received. I GOT TWENTY-SIX REVIEWS AFTER POSTING THIS CHAPTER and eleven for chapter 31 alone. Special thanks to Roza-Dimka-Reader, who speed-reviewed pretty much every single chapter up from chapter 11 :) If I say much more than this, I will go into a gushy stream of thank you's and you guys are awesomes, but on with the drabble!**

**Drabble: Permanent**

**RPOV**

"I gotta say, I didn't expect this from the level-headed, reserved Guardian Belikov," I said, smirking. "Doing a tattoo of your girlfriends' name is a very reckless, teenagerish thing to do."

Dimitri looked around the guy who was leaning over his chest and grinned back. Ordinarily, I would have been slightly worried about the fact that Dimitri was willingly letting a guy touch his pecs like that, but I supposed that this was an entirely different situation. "Perhaps you've influenced me," he replied playfully.

"That I have, comrade. I just happen to make very lasting impressions on people."

The tattooist- Dave, he said his name was- suddenly spoke up. "Are these your first inks? You guys seem pretty clean, but you kind of seem like you know 'bout the process…"

"I've got a few on my neck, and so does she," Dimitri replied. I nearly laughed. The molnija marks? They weren't your conventional idea of a tattoo- they were made with ink, yes, but they were more like a branding on a horse rather than something personal and symbolic.

But Dave nodded. "Right, yeah. I had a feeling this wasn't your first, but I didn't see a trace of ink on you! Not that I haven't done a few tats in, er, some _intimate _areas." He threw his head back and roared with laughter. Dimitri and I just exchanged half amused, half bemused looks at his excessive mirth.

About ten minutes later, the buzzing noise of the inking apparatus finally quieted. "You're finished," Dave declared.

"Lemme see!" I hurried over to the tattooing station Dimitri sat at, peering closely at the inside of his left pectoral- right where his heart was. There, on slightly inflamed skin, was a tiny word in flowing black script: _Roza._

"Sorry, 'scuse me," Dave said from behind me. "I just gotta put some salve on and bandage it."

When he finished, I lifted up my shirt slightly. Next to my freshly pierced belly button was a rectangular bandage; the smallest corner of an inked-on letter peeked out from it.

"We're matching now. Comrade and Roza."

**Hope I did Part Two justice! Review and get matching tats with… whoever. Preferably Dimitri. (I wish about these things as much as you guys do! Still waiting!)**


	33. The Many Ways of Knowing a Person

**I've learned to post late at night so I can have a big, happy surprise in the morning :) Wakes me right up! **

**BEWARE, FOR THIS DRABBLE IS PRETTY DEPRESSING! But it gets better in the end... **

**Drabble: Pool (Or The Many Ways of Knowing a Person)**

**RPOV**

As I watched Dimitri expertly shoot pool with another guardian in the palace's game room, I suddenly felt a surge of doubt, of bitterness. Because every time I saw his relaxed, content expression as he played, it reminded me of the same look he'd worn in the winter. In the winter, when he had stood by the side of a beautiful, raven-haired woman. She had clutched his arm and laughed, always trying to get him to get off duty so they could have fun together.

I'd never seen Dimitri act so coquettishly before then. I'd never seen him act so coquettishly, period. Did she really make him laugh so easily?

_Let's go play in the pool tournament, Dimitri… let's go to the big dinner together… let's… _

I didn't know he played pool. I didn't know that he'd been so close with her. And though we were witnesses to the deepest, darkest parts of each other's souls, I felt like I still didn't know him at all.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand seeing Dimitri's lovely, playful face anymore. I turned on my heel and exited the room.

I wasn't surprised that Dimitri found me a few minutes later.

"Roza," he said quietly.

I turned to face him, showing him my deadened expression.

Striding forward, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. "Oh, Roza."

My voice, small with defeat and muffled by the leather of his duster, whispered back, "Dimitri."

The arms around me tightened as I squeezed my eyes shut, not meeting his gaze. "What will I ever do with you?"

I didn't answer.

"Roza. Please just tell me what's wrong."

After hesitating for several seconds, I looked up at him, eyes desperate. "Sometimes I feel like I just don't know you."

He stared at me, his brow furrowing as he did so. "You know me better than anyone."

"That's because I was _there _when things happened. But do we ever talk about- things? Just the small and inconsequential things that people in a relationship should know about each other? I barely know anything about that."

"Hardly anyone does, Rose. And I'm sorry."

"_She_ knew. She knew you played pool, she knew why you always stayed on duty… she knew everything. And she made you so happy."

I could feel Dimitri stiffen. He buried his face into my hair, inhaling deeply. "It was never her, Roza. You're the only one who has ever held my heart. I suppose… perhaps I was using her to forget you, that I could never have you. I tried to see the friendship between me and her as something more. I thought I could, because Ivan and I knew her for years and we became close during that time- when I wasn't as… guarded. When I still was willing to have fun.

"That changed when Ivan was killed. And she was the only one who knew how hard it was for me. But then you came along… and you understood, even though you didn't know him. Or even me, back then at least. So that's how I realized, that day on the balcony with you, that she wasn't the one I needed.

"I need you, Roza."

Then his lips were on mine. And I swear, in the kiss, I heard a tiny whisper: _"It will always be you."_

When we finally broke apart, gasping, I dragged him back to my room, where we indulged in a session of getting to know each other better.

**Aww, they're getting to know each other better ;) In more ways than one... XD**

**Let's say this drabble is set shortly after LS ends, before Rose and Dimitri move in together. Explains how Rose feels like she doesn't know the tiny little tidbits about her comrade, doesn't it?**

**For some reason, I don't like to think that Rose is jealous. I would say she's more… embittered by the lack an explanation of why Dimitri seemed so much happier in FB with Tasha then he seemed with Rose. Inspired by my own rereading of FB, too. I was really bothered by Dimitri's closeness with Tasha.**

**(I've nicknamed FB "Fucking Bitch" because of Tasha…)**

**Review and Dimitri will comfort you and tell you you're his one and only... and then prove it to you ;)**


	34. Soft

**Drabble: Soft**

**DPOV**

Rose might have kept her hard exterior about for show, but she wasn't fooling Dimitri. Because, in reality, he knew she was a very soft person. It wasn't just her plump lips or her silky, dark hair or her molten brown eyes that gave the illusion of this… no. Those were just reflections of her personality.

He saw the softness in her caring side, the side she rarely showed to people. He saw it in her when she protected the princess- as not only a guardian, but also a friend; he saw it in her when she would talk about the parts of him he never dared to mention to other people; he saw it in her kind, knowing smile that she gave to whoever she thought needed it.

(That was mostly Dimitri, though.)

He loved all of Rose, but that was really the part of her that struck him the most. Her ability to be so compassionate and so empathetic despite the world they lived in, despite all the hardships she had survived through- it was the wondrous and beautifully perfect part of her.

So really, underneath the tough facade she kept up, he knew that the soft part of her really was what made her so strong.

* * *

><p><strong>Short. But I needed to get this little bunny out of my head. <strong>

**Most of my DPOVs are third person for whatever reason...**

**Also, a big announcement for those of you who read Bittersweet Doppelganger: It used to be a simple three-shot of drabbles. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to turn it into a full story and certainly didn't do much planning plotwise while writing it in drabble form. So now, I'm kind of stuck with nowhere to go on that story. I'm very sorry to say, I'm putting it on hiatus until I have enough time to plan it properly and write longer, well-paced chapters. I promise I'm not leaving it, though.**

**And also, I just got an Instagram for Sage. Meryllis. Banks. It's not a personal account, just pics relevant to SMB. The link is near the bottom of my bio, so check it out! (Warning: I'm still figuring out how to work it, so the pictures I've posted might not be the best quality) AND NO, THERE WILL BE NO SELFIES (at least not full-face) AND NO PICTURES OF FOOD (unless it's a donut cake).**


	35. Harry Potter

**I realized that there's a lot of stuff on Rose/Christian's sibling-like relationship. But there's not much Dimitri/Lissa-wise…  
><strong>**This drabble is set in the same time period as "Sleepover" is.**

**Drabble: Harry Potter**

**Lissa POV**

As the private jet took off, Lissa relaxed into the leather reclining airplane seat and pulled out a thick volume from her messenger bag. Opening to the beginning, she smiled softly to herself and began to read.

"Harry Potter?" Dimitri asked quizzically. The tall, handsome guardian sat across from her, holding his own book- a western, of course. "I didn't know you were a fan."

Lissa laughed. "Of course I'm a fan. These are like, the Bible of this generation. I loved them when I was younger. Still do, in fact. Everyone has read these. Even Rose."

"I'm sure the royals in Moscow will be very pleased to hear that the new queen still reads children's novels."

"It's not just a children's novel!" Lissa scowled indignantly. "Harry Potter's a modern classic. God, haven't you read them?"

Dimitri frowned. "No."

Lissa gasped. "No? _No?_ You know what? I'm done. I'm not going to sit here and be friends with someone who _actually_ reads for the fun of it and yet has never read Harry Potter. This is blasphemy. Sacrilege."

In return, Dimitri chuckled slightly. "You're taking the Bible analogy a little too seriously, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. I can honestly say that if you're under the age of twenty-five and have not read Harry Potter, it's like a devout Christian not reading the Bible. And I'm speaking from experience. I've read both."

Quirking an eyebrow, Dimitri said, "Isn't the series just about a little boy who finds out he's a wizard and then has to kill the evil guy in the end of the series? Voldemort, right? That's the evil wizard's name? What's so good about it, anyway?"

Lissa yelped. "What's so good about it? _WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT IT? _Here!" She shoved the back cover in his face. "Read this!" She jabbed her finger at a small paragraph printed on the bottom of the page. "Read the whole damn thing!"

Dimitri flinched, but Lissa wasn't sure if it was because of her yelling, her whole in-your-face attitude, or the fact that she'd even said a mild swear. Slowly, though, he recovered from the shock and read the book review aloud. When he was done, Dimitri looked at her questioningly. "Okay?"

"See?" Lissa screeched. "It's not just a children's novel! It's deeply philosophical and written with beautiful prose and I can't believe you! Not only you haven't read it, but you also dissed it without even opening a page of it! When we get back to Court, Rose and I will hog tie you to a chair and _make _you read the Sorcerer's Stone. And then the other six."

"And I'm sure that will make me enjoy the reading," Dimitri remarked dryly.

Lissa settled back into the Deathly Hallows with a frustrated scream. "I hate you, Dimitri. I hate you!"

"Are you all right, Your Majesty? Is the spirit darkness affecting you?" Dimitri asked, faking concern. After all, it was clear that Lissa was going fangirl crazy, not spirit crazy.

The book flew across the cabin and caught Dimitri square in the forehead.

"You fascist bastard."

**I didn't expect the drabble to get quite so violently angry on Lissa's part, but it literally pains me to have Dimitri spout such blasphemous words. I love him, I really do, but I'm so mad at him for saying those things about Harry Potter. You just can't. You can't. (Lissa's reaction to his words is basically me venting about people who don't like HP)**

**Review and you can force Dimitri to read HP!**


	36. Harry Potter Part 2

**Happy first day of "spring" to those in the Northern Hemisphere… it's snowing where I live. Sometimes I despise living in the Northern US, but at least I don't live way up north in Canada.  
><strong>**MARCH DOES NOT GO OUT LIKE A LAMB, OH NO, THE SNOW IS FALLING HARD! And happy first day of fall to those in the Southern Hemisphere! And thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! We have surpassed 200 reviews!**

**Drabble: Harry Potter Part 2  
><strong>**Lissa POV**

Dimitri picked up the book I'd retrieved from my suitcase and held it gingerly with two fingers. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," I said sternly. "You do."

He just looked at me doubtfully, the book slowly slipping from his grasp.

"And do I have to make it an order?"

He smirked. "No, Your Majesty." Opening to the first page, he settled down onto the couch in our hotel room and began to read.

The following morning, I awoke and rolled over on my bed to see Dimitri sprawled on the couch, snoring. I wondered for a moment why he wasn't sleeping in his own bed until I saw the paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone resting on his fluctuating chest.

Grinning sleepily, I rubbed my eyes and sat up, reaching for the brush on my nightstand. After running it through my hair several times, I snapped my fingers twice to wake up the sleeping figure across the room.

Dimitri started. "Wha- huh- Voldemort- He's coming! Lissa! Your Majesty! Run and I'll hold him off!"

I blinked. And then burst out laughing. It was obvious that _someone _had symptoms of a Harry Potter addiction…

"Dimitri," I gasped through my giggles. "How- how are you gon- gonna hold him off without- a w-wand?"

He looked at me for a few moments, perplexed.

"Um. Whoops. Sorry… dream."

I picked up the book that had fallen on the floor in Dimitri's sudden movement.

"Are you a Horcrux?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"What?"

I stepped away, gathering my bag of toiletries to go to the bathroom. "If you're having visions of Voldemort, then you're obviously his Horcrux. I'd suggest going to him and asking him to kill you."

"Uh, I don't think I've gotten to that part yet. Or that book, for that matter." He gestured to the novel. "I finished it."

"And?" I felt a grin creeping up on my face.

"Give me the next one."

**Dimitri's been cured of his ignorance. *Bows* Review and you get to fangirl (or fanboy, in his case) about Harry Potter with Dimitri!**

**Fourth chapter of A Tale of Headphones and Sharks is up, if anyone's interested!**

**Snowflake: That's not how you self-advertise, Sage! You're supposed to go like, "HEY, CHAPTER FOUR OF ATHAS IS UP, GO READ IT RIGHT NOW!"**

**Sage: Yes, okay. READ IT OR I WILL MAKE THE NEXT TEN DRABBLES SHIT.**

**OK, not really. Just please read it. Please? Please?**

**Snowflake: OOH! Maybe, if they don't read it, you'll only post ATHAS drabbles for the next month :) You punish them, AND we get more self-advertising!**

**Sage: That's actually quite an appealing idea. Got a lot of Charko ideas! *Rubs hands together evilly***

**Snowflake: *cackles***


	37. Bar

**Sorry for the lack of updates. Had a lot of homework because testing just ended and my teachers are really eager to get back on track :( This one's for Dimitri's Secret Lover, the 100th reviewer. That reminds me, I haven't identified the 150th or 200th reviewer yet… this is gonna be a pain, counting backwards through the reviews. Would some dear reviewer like to come forth and claim they're the 150th? XD**

**Drabble: Bar**

**RPOV**

It's not a good idea to get married before you're twenty-one, because you can't even drink at your own wedding if you're younger than that. And that's why I told Dimitri after the proposal that even if he had managed to get a ring on my finger on my _twentieth _birthday, I wouldn't set a date until after I was of drinking age.

So here we were, celebrating my twenty-first year on this earth at a bar.

"Just think," Dimitri announced to our entourage before leaving. "She'll be telling me tonight whether she plans on getting married at all, or if she's going to keep only one ring on her finger her entire life just to prove a point."

I smirked and slugged his shoulder. "And what exactly is that point?"

"That you're stubborn and you do _a lot_ of things just to prove a point."

I slugged him again.

As we entered the bar, Dimitri murmured to me in an undertone, "Promise me one thing."

"What?" I asked.

"Don't get shots of vodka or tequila, or whatever, and get yourself utterly wasted. I think you'd like to be one of those people who actually remember their birthdays."

I scoffed at him. "What do you take me for? I'm a responsible adult."

Dimitri laughed so hard he doubled over- or maybe that was because I'd just punched him in the stomach.

* * *

><p>The other girls and I daintily sipped cocktails and did some girl-talk as we watched Dimitri, Christian, Adrian, and Eddie play pool in the lounge. Dimitri was winning, of course.<p>

Suddenly, a guy stumbled up to our table and slurred, "Hello, ladies. Anyone wanna dance?"

From Lissa and Mia's looks of disgust and Sydney's blush, I could tell that they probably didn't want to be anywhere near this dude. That made all four of us.

"Well, ladies? Anyone? Come on, I'm a cool person."

Seeing as no one else wanted to say anything, I replied, "No thanks." I picked up my glass with my left hand, not-so-subtly showing him my engagement ring. Drunk he was, he didn't even notice as it caught the light.

"Aw, why not?" He leered at me. "I don't bite."

"Funny," said a familiar voice from behind us. "I do."

I turned to see our four men glaring at the guy.

"Mind leaving my wife and her friends alone?" Adrian continued. He talked with his mouth wider than usual, exposing his abnormally long incisors.

Dimitri rolled his shoulders, biceps bulging as he did so. "Or perhaps if you won't do it on your own, we'll make you."

The annoying drunk cleared off pretty quick after that, muttering things like, "only trying to have fun" and "can't catch a damn break".

"I think we'd better stay together for the rest of the night," Dimitri suggested to me. "Want to dance?"

This time, I wholeheartedly agreed.

As he drew me close on the dance floor, I stood on tiptoe to whisper in Dimitri's ear. "I was thinking the summer after next. Late May, early June, maybe?"

I could feel him smile into my hair. "Of course, Roza."

**Review and you get to dance with Dimitri :)**


	38. Dream

***RUBY CIRCLE SPOILERS* This one's very short, probably the shortest one I've ever written... but I needed to get it out there.**

**Drabble: Dream**

**RPOV**

It was a familiar dream.

Rose saw two small children, a boy and a girl, laughing and running through the summertime meadow. Their deep brown tresses flew behind them wildly, so much like her own hair did when she raced through the grounds. She saw their warm, dark eyes flashing in excitement, so much like the way their father's did.

These were her and Dimitri's children.

And with that realization, she awoke with a gasp. She'd had the dream before. Countless times. And always, she would wake up in a pool of cold sweat and tears, mourning what she could never have. She fought to keep her sobs quiet so Dimitri wouldn't be disturbed by them- she didn't want his comfort or his pity. It was her own burden to bear.

But now, for the first time, Rose felt a glimmer of hope as her mind revisited the scene with the playing children. Because when she saw Dimitri's sleeping figure beside her, she saw miracles. She saw possibility. She saw happiness. She saw a family of love.

**I'll be gone on spring vacation for the next week or so, and unless the hotel room has a computer, I won't be able to update until Easter Sunday or Monday (and even then, I might not have any drabbles to be published).**

**Review… and, um, *overlooks the obvious one* have awesome hair like Rose's!**


End file.
